Jaxon closed her eyes tiredly. It felt good to simply lie there and be still. Not think. Not do anything but feel his warmth and strength. “I’m so tired. It must be close to dawn. Why are we always talking until dawn?”
“So you grow tired and sleep all day while I am at my weakest. It is a good way to keep you chained to my side.” Lucian stretched lazily “I intend to sleep here with you, so settle down and do not try to argue with me.”
Jaxon thumped his shoulder, then shifted to lay her head on it “I wasn’t going to argue with you. Why ever would you think that? I never argue.”
Lucian smiled at her. She was so small, it amazed him she was such a strong person. “Of course you do not argue. What was I thinking? Go to sleep, honey, and allow my poor body to rest.”
“I’m already asleep. You’re the one gabbing.”
Lucian concentrated on safeguarding the estate. He found he was more than a little distracted with Jaxon snuggled so close to him, her body fitting perfectly into the curve of his. She thought him so controlled, and perhaps it was true in every other matter—every matter other than Jaxon. He was not so sure of his ability to protect her from his own needs and hungers.
“Lucian?” The drowsy note in her voice sent his gut clenching into a ball of fire that was spreading like molten lava.
“Go to sleep.” He draped his arm over her, completely engulfing her. Of their own accord his fingers tangled in the thick mop of untamed hair. His own voice was husky with need.
“Don’t you sleep underground or something? I know you don’t use a coffin, but this seems too normal for you.” Her voice held suspicion.
Lucian hesitated. There could be no untruths between lifemates, and he had always been careful to tell her those details of his life she asked about. But this. What was he to answer? “Go to sleep.”
At once Jaxon tried to lift her head. Lucian didn’t appear to notice. His arm lay firmly in place. “Tell me, Lucian, or I’m going to bug you all day.”
He sighed. “I thought you didn’t like hearing all the gory details of my existence.” His fingers were moving in her hair gently, a tender caress that warmed her heart as nothing else could.
It was the way he touched her, the way he looked at her, Jaxon decided, as if she were the only woman in the world for him. And he was beguiling. A dark sorcerer impossible to resist. Like right now, his mouth skimming the top of her head, the way he inhaled her scent as if he were taking the essence of her into his own body “I’m beginning to be rather fond of your fantasyland, Lucian.” The smile left her voice, and she became very serious. “I want to know everything about you. Not all at once, maybe, but eventually, everything.”
He lay there, his body tight and hot and uncomfortable. He should have been in a burning hell, but instead he was filled with joy. Her words moved him, melted his insides, so that the demon within him was safely leashed. He knew he would have her, he knew he would never allow her to escape him, yet he never believed she would grow to love him for who he was, what he was. Maybe it wouldn’t happen, but Jaxon did want to know him, his reality.
Lucian’s hand moved to the nape of her neck, his fingers curling around it. “To rejuvenate our bodies, such as when we have suffered mortal wounds or used much energy to heal another, the soil of the earth welcomes us. But it is not strictly necessary to sleep within the arms of the earth. It is safer, for little harm can find its way to us there.” Again he hesitated, unsure how she would take the next piece of information.
Jaxon thumped his chest lightly with her fist. She didn’t bother to open her eyes and frown at him, considering her gesture enough of a reprimand. “Tell me.”